


A Quiet Struggle

by Nicxan



Category: The Stanley Parable
Genre: M/M, Not Beta Read, one (1) swear word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 16:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20450246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicxan/pseuds/Nicxan
Summary: All he wanted was for Stanley to appreciate his efforts. He always went out of his way to try and impress him, but ... maybe that was too much to ask for.





	A Quiet Struggle

**Author's Note:**

> Writer's Month! Day 30! WE ARE ALMOST DONE  
Prompt was 'pining' and this was fun!!!!

The Narrator didn’t really have a lot to do aside from guide Stanley through the Parable in every conceivable way. Any time spent away from Stanley was spent either sleeping, or trying to get the Parable that was made for Stanley specifically. He knew that, on some level, some sense of attachment may happen on Stanley’s end. It happened with humans, bonding with someone you were stuck with for a long time.   
  
Maybe that ‘bonding’ would actually get him to _listen_. Most likely not, but the Narrator could dream. Dream, and continue talking and hope that Stanley didn’t make him play Minecraft for the one hundredth time that millennium. It was getting rather boring building dirt houses.   
  
It got to the point where the Narrator started to try to predict what ending Stanley would go for based on subtle hints. After studying him carefully, the Narrator started to notice when, exactly, he would deviate from the script. (Well, the current script, at least.) It was usually the slightest grin with a twinkle in his eye – that was the tell.  
  
Sometimes, he wasn’t nearly as sure – and the Narrator could tell when he hesitated. Sometimes he questioned if it was worth it, and he would just stand at a crossroads, tapping his foot as he hemmed and hawed over what to do this time. It was almost cute … until he disobeyed and went off the planned story the Narrator had crafted for him.   
  
Over time, he was able to notice more and more of these little tells. And most of them were … endearing. Adorable, even.  
  
The Narrator struggled to keep his voice steady every time Stanley redirected his cheeky grins to the ceiling. He didn’t exactly have cameras in his Parable, but he could see Stanley almost everywhere he went. Every angle, every moment, every … almost everything. When Stanley defied him and took a nap in the lounge. When they got sidetracked in the Confusion ending and they explored that mess of an office together.   
  
When he stared at the light show in the Zending for as long as he could before the Narrator reset to avoid the much more tragic conclusion. He couldn’t bear to see Stanley in pain. He couldn’t bear to see Stanley die. Maybe that was why he had barred off that one ending.   
  
Yet, despite the Narrator’s best efforts, Stanley still seemed perfectly unaware of all the effort the Narrator put in to impress him. He went about his business ignoring the story, and just went out of his way to be a disobedient little bastard. At least, that’s what it seemed like.  
  
The Narrator was at a loss.  
  
Didn’t the man have any appreciation for a good story? A good story written _just for him_? Maybe if he could just word things a bit differently, Stanley could truly appreciate the masterpiece laid out before him.   
  
Maybe if he worked just a bit harder, Stanley would actually _like_ him. That’s all the Narrator wanted: for Stanley to like and appreciate him. To actually enjoy his company, and want to be around him.   
  
Was it too much to hope for?   
  
Perhaps it was. The Narrator, however, would keep trying to catch Stanley’s attention in a more positive way. He had no choice but to.


End file.
